François de Malherbe

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Malherbe, François de

Born circa 1555, in Caen; died Oct. 16, 1628, in Paris. French writer. Founder of French classicist poetry.

Malherbe came from the provincial nobility. In 1605 he settled in Paris. His poetry consists principally of solemn odes and stanzas dedicated to members of the royal family; he also wrote sonnets, epigrams, and elegies.

Malherbe’s importance lies chiefly in his reform of the language and poetry. Opposing Ronsard and the poets of La Pleiade, Malherbe demanded that French be purged of Greek and Latin borrowings, archaisms, and provincialisms; he proposed that French be based on the spoken norm of the broad strata of the Parisian population. In metrics he formed rules that became obligatory for classicist poetry. In many respects, Malherbe’s views anticipated those of the Académic Françhise.

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